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Topic: Smithsonian |
John Troutman
From:
Washington, DC
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Posted 12 Aug 2008 10:49 am |
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Hi everyone:
I've spent the last three months working on a research project at the Smithsonian's American History museum (which will reopen in November after a two year maintenance/remodel closing). Part of the project required me to take a look at the museum's collection of steel guitars, and much to my dismay, they had very little in the way of our instruments. They have a nice early '30s Dobro, and an early '50s Gibson lap steel, but that is it-- not a single pedal steel, no fry pan, no other non-pedal steels, no glorious inventions like Letritia Kandle's Grand Letar. This is not because they do not want them--on the contrary, the curators there are eager to add steel guitars to the collection.
So, if anyone is interested in donating a pedal steel to the Smithsonian, or in particular, any steels with a particularly interesting history to them (this does not mean it had to have been played by a 'master'--but any steels with a lot of road stories, preferably your own, would go great in the collection; likewise, any particularly unique steel guitars, or any that can represent a position in the technological innovations of the steel would be great)-- I can put you in touch with a couple of the curators. I do not work for the Smithsonian, but because I'm in this steel community, I thought I would let y'all know that they are in desperate need of expanding this component of their collections.
Finally, instrument donations are tax deductible. However, the Smithsonian will not provide an appraisal-- you determine the value, then submit a form to them. When they receive the instrument, they'll sign the form and send it back to you.
And hey! You can tell your buddies that your guitar is in the Smithsonian!
Just keep this in mind in case you have an extra steel and would like to send it on to the museum.
Thanks,
John
Last edited by John Troutman on 8 Feb 2017 8:29 am; edited 4 times in total |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 12 Aug 2008 3:57 pm
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| Quote: |
| They have a nice early '30s Dobro, and an early '50s Gibson lap steel, but that is it-- not a single pedal steel, no fry pan, no other non-pedal steels... |
But do they ever display them?
I was told by one of their employees that the vast majority of the Smith's holdings (over 85%) spend most of their time languishing about in various warehouses, they only have room to display a very small amount of their collection. Potential donors need to be informed that whatever they donate may not go on display anytime soon, and they also need to be told about the "deaccessioning" that sometimes takes place (whereby items donated are sold at auction to buy other stuff).
If you care to donate, I certainly applaud you. But bear in mind that for what they might pay for one minor artwork (a painting or sculpture), they could purchase a world-class collection of steel and pedal steel guitars. |
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Ron Whitfield
From:
Kaaawa, Hawaii, USA
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Posted 12 Aug 2008 5:55 pm
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Considering Donnie's points and the fact that The Country Music HOF doesn't have Jerry Byrd's Rick Bakelite on display any more, the Smithy should get examples that aren't all that playable anymore to 'possibly' display.
I'd rather have my guitars go to someone who's going to do them proud by playing them.
I came accross a great music museum on the web that had a ton of cool old steels, guitars, and amps to see inside big glass cases, and it left me with an empty/sad feeling, even tho it was an excellant display. I'd feel better if they regularly had players come in and give shows with them to keep them 'alive'. |
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John Troutman
From:
Washington, DC
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Posted 12 Aug 2008 7:10 pm
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You'd want to ask one of the curators all of these questions, particularly if it matters to you whether or not the instrument goes on permanent display. The American History museum has over 6,000 musical instruments, so space on the exhibit floors at any given time is quite competitive. On top of that, musical instruments comprise only one small component of the museum's collections. So if you'd expect the guitar to be exhibited permanently, well, that's not gonna happen. Now if it was Dorothy's ruby slippers or Archie Bunker's chair, THAT's another story...
But that's not really the point, at least as how I see it--the Smithsonian is a research institution, with exhibit space; if you have a guitar you're not playing and would like for the museum to maintain it permanently as a representative example for study by future generations and certainly for future exhibits, this might be of interest to you. If so, call Gary Sturm or Stacey Kluck (Stacey is the curator that I met with). You can reach either of them by calling 202-633-1707.
That is all,
John
p.s. the stringed instrument collections are maintained in the museum building on the Mall and are not offsite, so if you plan to go to the museum, feel free to schedule a visit with the curators to check them out; they do have some really cool old banjos (including a pair specially made for a female twin vaudeville act) and fiddles and a couple of harp guitars. |
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Paul Warnik
From:
Illinois,USA
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Posted 16 Jul 2009 1:04 am
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John T-In regard to your mention of Letritia Kandle's National Grand Letar which you evidently read about the discovery and restoration here on the Forum-I have promised Letritia that upon my passing I will leave the instrument and all related provenance to an institution that would hopefully accept and preserve this historic instrument-The Smithsonian would be a fitting and deserving place for it-I would like to know
more about how to go about the proceedure of donation of the instrument along in my last will and testament
like what my eventual executor will need to do-please
e-mail me at pwarnik@oaklawn-il.gov with any other helpful info Thank You PW |
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